93. Vacherin Fribourgeois
From time to time someone will say to me, "You must meet a friend of mine. You two will really hit it off." On a rare occasion, we clash like tartan plaid and pastel polka dots when we meet. When this happens I always have to ask myself if the person is really crass, overbearing and foul or did I just catch him on a bad day. These thoughts occurred to me when I tasted Vacherin Fribourgeois for the first time. Right now the two of us can't stand being in the same room together.
Tales of the cheese's youth are glowingly recounted on the label with words such as "grass", "Alpine pastures" and "butter". No trace of these qualities remained in the cheese I tasted, like a beauty pageant winner who has not aged gracefully. The overwhelming flavor of the Vacherin I tasted was funk, the foul bacterial stench of bodily odor.
Vacherin Fribourgeois is a semisoft member of the raclette family, made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. The Fribougeois will use it in fondue alongside Gruyère from the same region make a moitié-moitié, half-and-half. Either they use a younger cheese or are more accustomed to the taste.
Name: Vacherin Fribourgeois
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semisoft
Produced in: Switzerland, Fribourg
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, Online Order, www.murrayscheese.com
Price: $26.99/lb.
February 9, 2007
98. Valdeón
Supposedly Valdeón is often confused with its more famous relative Cabrales. Both are Spanish blues, aged in caves. Both cheeses were wrapped in the leaves of the Spanish Sycamore Maple, though Cabrales has now shed its leaf from more modren aluminum foil. Valdeón is more blue in color compared to the grey tones of Cabrales which are one of its distinguishing characteristics. I will speak more of Cabrales soon but now the spotlight is on Valdeón.
Valdeón comes from the northwestern mountain region of Spain outside of León. Though mainly produced from cow's milk alone, some producers will add goat's or sheep's milk to the mix. The blue cheese is salty and sharp and to my mind, wonderful. The texture is semi-soft but still firm, meaning it crumbles readily. Delicious with crusty bread or fine sherry.
Name: Valdeón or Valdeon or Picón de Valdeón
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semiosoft, blue
Produced in: Spain
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $18.99/lb.